I was invited in this podcast to share my journey from how my triplets’ health led me to discover homeopathy, qualify as a homoeopath and use my skills to volunteer and treat villagers in The Gambia.
I believe in homeopathy which treats the whole person naturally avoiding conventional medicine’s side effects. I love my work and offer a friendly and practical approach, enjoying the process of getting to know my patients and improving their health.
Lunatic (crazy) comes from the Latin ‘lunaticus ‘or ‘moonstruck’. Folklore has us all affected by the moon’s phases, but more recent scientific research has noted that more outdoor criminal activity takes place at the full moon. Moreover, there is a clear relationship between the change in the moon’s gravitational pull and bi-polar patients’ manic-depressive cycles.
Women’s menstrual cycles can also be influenced by the moon’s cycle, and many cultures have associated them with fertility.
In my practice, I am regularly told that ‘my period always starts on the full moon’, a characteristic symptom which I include to narrow down the remedy I shall eventually prescribe.
In other cases, the advent of the full moon affects some so negatively that they dread the monthly depression, paranoia or insomnia.
Homeopathic treatment has greatly helped those suffering from symptoms before or during the full moon.
Homeopathic treatment is holistic and individualised and as such remedies will differ according to a person’s totality of symptoms.
If any of this resonates with you, contact me for a no-obligation 15-minute discovery call.
Take Pulsatilla 30c, repeat in 2 hours, and let me know how you are
Homeopathy isn’t magic, though its results are when correctly prescribed. Knowing the person you are prescribing for helps, as them having their own kit to not to have to wait to receive a remedy.
There is more than one remedy to resolve a stye quickly. As homeopathy is a holistic and individualised treatment, consult a qualified homeopath to attain the best results.
Book a 15 minutes free discovery call to find out how I can help!
Homeopathy = gentle and natural healing – not a quick fix
How does homeopathy work? I often have clients who are surprised when they do not experience immediate results when taking the remedy. They expect homeopathy to act like conventional medicine which fixes the symptoms, often temporarily. In homeopathy we are aiming to eliminate the symptoms as well as treating the root causes or triggers for those symptoms.
Homeopathy will improve your health, mentally, emotionally and physically but you have to understand that it isn’t always a quick fix. It takes time to reach the core of the disturbance to completely change your body or mind’s reactions to those triggers.
Let’s use the analogy of gardening. You wouldn’t expect your seed to grow overnight into a fully grown bush.
Similarly, your health needs regular and consistent care, and by using homeopathy to treat your ailments you are making a long-term investment in your health.
Homeopathy is a gentle mode of healing which aims not only to reduce your symptoms but also to eliminate the triggers that cause the relapses or re-occurrences of your condition.
Having patience with homeopathic treatment in chronic conditions pays off – this from one of my clients, who has several very longstanding conditions. Her main concern was that when she caught a cold, she would invariably end up with a chest infection, be on at least two different antibiotics and be ill for 3 weeks. After several months of regular homeopathic treatment, that winter her cold did not go down to her chest, and she had no need of antibiotics.
Another client, who understood the need for consistent treatment, had a monthly consultation for 8 months until her very irregular and very spaced out periods were in tune with a 28-30 day cycle. She continued to see me to resolve other longstanding emotional issues.
In conclusion, the longer and more severely you have been suffering from a condition, allow more time to completely resolve it with homeopathy. Homeopathy will effect change, layer by layer, just like peeling an onion, all the while aiming to reach the core of your ailment.
Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions, or wish to book a consultation.
I leave you with this wonderful quote from the philosopher Thomas Carlyle;
He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.
These are extremely challenging times; the uncertainty causes a cascade of feelings, such as confusion, fear, worry, frustration and powerlessness.
The not knowing – how long this will last, am I a
carrier/infected, how will I provide for my family – is a major cause of
stress. And prolonged stress in and of itself impacts negatively on our immune
system. Some tips to keep your immune
system stable are listed below.
We all react to uncertainty and the feeling of helplessness
in accordance with our personality. Those of us who are bossy, make plans and
need to organise others, stoical types
take it in their strides and weather the situation, others worry themselves
silly and some are frightened thinking
that something dreadful is going to happen.
If you feel that fear or anxiety are affecting your health,
homeopathic remedies can help – consulting with a qualified homeopath will
ensure you of the most accurate prescription and assistance.
Some tips to keep your immune system and your spirits strong:
Generally: Stay Safe
Sleep and Rest
Control the amount of negative information you expose yourself to
Are you feeling low, even depressed? Let homeopathy lift
your mood.
Did you know ‘feeling blue’ is not just an expression – the image of a depressed person’s brain scan is mainly blue as shown below in the right image.
What is depression?
Depression can be a temporary
passing experience or a deeply disturbing condition that may lead to suicide. Experiencing
severe
despondency and dejection, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness and
inadequacy, as well as a condition of mental disturbance, typically with lack
of energy and difficulty in maintaining concentration or interest in life
Except in cases of
minor depressive states, professional attention is generally recommended to
help a person go through this emotional experience in a conscious manner.
Symptoms of Depression:
Psychiatrists classify cases as Depression if they have been
continually depressed for a period of at least two years and in addition
display any three of the following symptoms:
Low self-esteem or lack of confidence
Pessimism, hopelessness or despair
Lack of interest in ordinary pleasures and activities
Withdrawal from social activities
Fatigue or Lethargy
Guilt or ruminating about the past
Irritability or excessive anger
Lessened productivity
Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
Whatever the reasons for suffering, such as not recovering
from grief or loss, chemical imbalances, post-natal depression or SAD (Seasonal
Affective Disorder), homeopathy can reduce the severity of the symptoms in
conjunction with lifestyle and dietary changes.
Homeopaths, like modern-day physiologists,
understand that symptoms of illness represent the body’s defences in its
efforts to adapt to and respond against infection, environmental assault, or
stress of some kind. As discomforting as symptoms can be, they still represent
the living organism’s best efforts at the time to try to defend and heal him or
herself. Such defences are an innate part of our evolutionary efforts to
survive.
Why
Homeopathy Makes Sense for Depression:
Homeopathic
medicines are not prescribed based on the person’s diagnosed disease but on the
unique way the person experiences his or her disease. In other
words, homeopathic medicines are prescribed based on the totality of
various physical and psychological symptoms, not just a single symptom or
disease label. Although the selection of the correct homeopathic prescribing is
more complex than the use of conventional drugs or even many herbal
preparations, the system of prescribing that is individualized to the whole
person is intellectually sound… and its results are often significant if not
substantial.
Numerous studies have shown benefits in using the herb St. Johns’ wort to treat mild to moderate depression. However, homeopaths generally find that it is preferable to prescribe individualised homeopathic remedies to attain better long-term sustained results without having to take continual doses of any medicine. In fact, a recent study in a medical journal published by Oxford University Press found that individualized homeopathic treatment is as effective and is safer than Prozac in the treatment of people with moderate or severe depression. (Adler UC, Paiva NMP, Cesar AT, Adler MS, Molina A, Padula AE, Calil HM. Homeopathic individualized Q-potencies versus fluoxetine for moderate to severe depression: double-blind, randomized non-inferiority trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2009 Aug 17 ) http://ecam.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/nep114v1)
Testimonial:
“I am so thankful to Danielle and her homeopathic magic! I was
particularly skeptical about homeopathic remedies but after feeling
particularly low and depressed for some time and at my wits end as to how to
pull myself out of it I turned to Danielle to see if there is any way that she
could help me. Our first session was a tearful one but I was already
feeling a little more optimistic after leaving her and waited patiently for my
remedies. It’s hard to pin point exactly when things began to improve but
they certainly did and rapidly! After our 3rd session I was feeling miles
better and together we made the decision that I could try and stop taking the
remedy and see if I could keep my mood and optimism high.
As much as it would have been lovely to see her regularly, there really
was no need and I was back to my old self again. For anyone that is
skeptical like me I strongly advise just giving it a go as it could be the
perfect natural solution. I’ve heard of homeopathic remedies working for
more physical symptoms such as hay fever but really wasn’t sure it could help
with something such as depression but I was wrong! Danielle is such a
lovely lady and a wonderful homeopath to see especially if you are feeling very
down. Big thanks Danielle for getting me back smiling again! ;)” CC
A word or two of caution:
There
are so many homeopathic medicines that can be used to treat the numerous
symptoms of depression and anxiety that it can be difficult to know where to
start. It is important to make sure that your symptoms are not due to another
illness such as an underactive thyroid or a stomach ulcer, so please talk to
your GP first to make sure of the diagnosis before starting homeopathic
treatment.
Cases of bipolar,
manic-depression, risk of suicide or schizophrenia, require long-term
counselling/therapy and psychiatric referral with homeopathy as an adjunctive
therapy.
Disclaimer:
As a homeopath I do not diagnose, treat or prescribe for any
particular symptom, disease or condition. Instead, I work on increasing the
general vitality and constitutional strength of those who seek my advice. I am
a professional homeopath and not a medical doctor, and therefore those who work
with me must retain the services of a primary care physician for appropriate
evaluations and check-ups for themselves and/or their children.
Get yourself better permanently and in a gentle way
Examples of 5 people suffering from a cold, treated with 5 remedies:
A is for Aconite: Rafe, a teenager, was at games on a very windy day. He hadn’t worn a coat and by the evening was flushed and not himself. At midnight he woke up with a high temperature, feeling anxious and restless. His skin was dry, his nose was running and just one of his cheeks was red. His mother heard him call out, handed him a glass of water, which he drank quickly, then gave him a dose of Aconite napellus. He soon calmed down and drifted off to sleep. By morning, he was still a bit tired from the interrupted sleep, but all his other symptoms had gone.
A is also for Arsenicum: 60 year old Barbara came to see me with a runny nose and sore throat. Her sore throat felt better for sips of cold water. The watery mucous from her nose was burning and had made her nose and upper lip red and sore.
She was tired, anxious and irritable, not having slept well and worrying that the cold would deteriorate into something worse. Although the room was comfortably warm, she was wrapped in a cot and scarf, and still feeling chilly. I gave her Arsenicum Album to take until her symptoms improved. By evening she no longer had a sore throat and felt much better by the next day.
G is for Gelsemium: 35 year old David had been down with a cold for a few days and was exhausted. He had a head ache which had settled over his eyes, and his head felt heavy, chills up and down his spine and shaky legs. He sat slumped with his eyes have closed and was slow to reply to my questions. His worry was that the cold would turn into bronchitis if not treated. A few doses of Gelsemium got him back to work in 3 days, with the chills and head ache reducing that same day.
M is for Mercury: As 8 year-old Sarah’s cold was getting worse, her mother called to ask which remedy to give her from her home homeopathy kit. What were her symptoms? Her neck glands were very swollen, also her throat was so painful she would now only sip water. Her swollen tonsils were dotted with little white ulcers. She had bad breath and had been dribbling. I prescribed Mercurius solubis. That evening she managed to eat a little and by the next evening she was practically back to her happy self.
P is for Pulsatilla: one of my daughters would have Pulsatilla symptoms with a cold. From happy to tearful, from independent to needing cuddling and carrying or sitting on my lap, a different child in illness. Physically, she would have a yellow-green nasal discharge that was better with fresh air though she would prefer to be indoors and she would not want to drink very much. Often the post-nasal drip would cause a cough that would wake her in the night. Pulsatilla pratensis would always dry up the discharge, make her less emotional and get her back to her healthy state.
If any of these homeopathic remedy pictures strike a chord with you, whether it is a cold, the flu or a chronic condition, homeopathy is a natural non-toxic way of improving your health.
Do you tend to worry about what might happen in the future, shake or panic before or during a public engagement, or cancel plans at the last minute because you cannot face them?
Too many people are affected by anxiety or panic attacks at various stages in their life.
With the right homeopathic treatment, those living with nervousness, severe anxiety, phobias or panic disorders can attain relief and enjoy worry free lives.
Some common remedies to calm the mind are listed below, however, chronic anxiety disorders will need a supervised course of treatment, so for the best results, do make an appointment.
Aconite:
Is best known for its intensity of symptoms – fear or panic with a sudden onset, often following on from after seeing or experiencing a trauma or accident. The person is restless, fearful and think they are about to die. They might have a pounding heart, dry mouth and be thirsty.
Aconite can also treat symptoms from a past traumatic event.
Argenticum nit:
Apprehension when unsure of what is going to happen and the more they dwell on it, the worse they feel. They feel worse for heat and crowds and are nervous and hurried.
They crave sweets and sugar which give them digestive upsets. Anxiety will trigger diarrhoea and flatulence. Strange compulsions and ‘what if’ thoughts are typical of this remedy.
Arsenicum Alb:
Arsenicums tend to worry about the future, financial security and safety, are worse at night and when alone. To cope with their anxiety, they become perfectionistic, overly fastidious and selfish and can develop OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). They become controlling and critical of others. They are usually chilly and feel better for being warm.
Gelsemium:
Weakness and trembling from any exertion that is allied with anxiety, such as performance anxiety with weakness of the knees and muscles, trembling of the hands and shaking voice. At the same time they feel paralysed by fear as well as helpless, wanting to hide away but unable to move. Fear of open spaces and the flu have been helped with Gelsemium.
Kali phosphoricum:
A remedy for mental overwhelm, brain fog, they are overstressed and delicate. They have a fear of something bad happening or having a nervous breakdown.
Physical symptoms from overwork, excitement or worry.
Lycopodium:
Suffer from lack of confidence and has anticipation anxiety and stage fright, with flatulence and griping colic, though once they get going they relax and do well. Their anxiety occurs in new situations or with new people and they can overcompensate over talking and bravado. They crave sweets and have right sided physical complaints.
The above are only a small sample of remedies for anxiety and panic attacks, if none of them match your symptoms, contact me for assistance.
If you find that after several doses of one of the above remedies you have very little or no improvement, contact me for a more appropriate remedy.
For best results, recurring or chronic problems should be treated with the assistance of a professional homeopath.